The Trump Administration’s Transgender Military Ban

American Oversight has filed a lawsuit to uncover the facts surrounding the Trump administration’s move to ban transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, which the president announced via Twitter.

Last updated: September 21, 2018

Topic: Civil Rights |
Status: Active

What We’re Seeking

Any analysis or recommendations provided by senior military or DOD officials to the White House regarding the implementation of a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.

Records of communications with various upper-level military personnel from a variety of military offices regarding Trump’s announcement of a transgender ban via Twitter.

Background:

On July 26th, 2017, President Trump announced through a series of Tweets that transgender individuals will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……

In announcing the ban, President Trump claimed he was advised by “my generals,” but news reports indicated that the Pentagon was caught off guard by the tweets and was unprepared for the policy change — suggesting that the move was not in fact recommended by military leaders.

Emails uncovered by American Oversight in September 2018 showed that senior Pentagon leaders were unaware of the president’s announcement before it happened and, in the words of one top military official, “everyone was caught flat-footed.”

American Oversight is continuing to investigate what the DOD knew before this policy change was revealed to the public. We submitted a FOIA request seeking all documents and communications related to this decision, including any analyses or recommendations from any military personnel provided to the White House that could have influenced DOD’s policy regarding the service of transgender individuals in the U.S. military.

Despite surrounding legal battles, federal courts and the Pentagon have subsequently stated that transgender individuals will be able to continue enlisting and serving in the military and can sign up starting January 1, but the White House and Justice Department are fighting to enforce the president’s original ban. American Oversight submitted subsequent FOIA requests seeking additional records from DOD to determine if the White House and military personnel were aware of this policy decision before Trump’s tweets.